Monkey Bars
by myjunkisyou573926
Summary: While sitting alone in an empty cafeteria, Duckie looks back on childhood memories of his beloved friend Andie.


**I haven't written fanfiction is a long ass time...don't judge me. Or my sappiness. I'm just obsessed with Pretty in Pink, and madly in love with the adorable Duckie Dale. So it just seemed logical to write a fic about him. :P**

**Well, here goes. RR, por favor?**

There was only one thing on Duckie Dale's mind that afternoon. Then again, that one thing tended to be on his mind most of the time. Whether it was during one of Mrs. Colin's boring European history lectures, or during Mrs. Dietz's excruciating gym exercises, or even while being lectured by Mr. Donnelly, the principal, for talking back to some teacher or another. He didn't care about any of that. One thing was certain, the only thing Duckie truly cared about in the world more than anything was Andie Walsh.

But this was no secret. In fact, Duckie told her this a lot. But usually Andie dismissed it with an eye roll or a shrug, believing his obsession to be nothing more than one of his jokes. An eccentricity, perhaps. She never took his love for her seriously. And Duckie was fine with this. In fact, the only reason why he put on his goofball act was to protect himself from getting hurt. He knew Andie would never feel the same way. How could she? She saw him as a friend. Her best friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

Duckie pondered this as he sat alone in the cafeteria Wednesday afternoon. He had cut algebra that day in order to save a spot for his beloved friend. She was getting fed up of having to sit outside everyday, due to the richer kids claiming all of the tables inside. So, being the devoted friend that he was, Duckie was determined to get a spot indoors for her. Not too close to the window, as she didn't like sitting in the sun, but far enough away from where the popular kids sat so they wouldn't be bothered. And if any of the richies tried to kick them out, well, then they'd have him to deal with him.

True, he didn't _have_ to go through all the trouble just to get a decent spot in the cafeteria, but as long as it made Andie happy, he was content. He truly intended on devoting his life to her. After all, he had truly loved the girl since he was nine. The memories of Shermer Elementary School may be distant to Andie, but to Duckie it felt like only yesterday.

He would never forget the moment when he first saw her on the playground, watching her swing on the monkey bars. It seemed like miles off the ground at the time. Even then he had watched her intently, admiring her intense determination to reach that next bar, her short arms straining to grasp every one. Duckie smiled as he envisioned his young self watching her from the swings, remembering how her fiery red hair breezed as she continued her trek across the bars.

As she reached for the next bar, Duckie had noticed her hand starting to slip. But Andie was not giving up so quickly. With her other arm, she reached with all her might, desperate to make it to the end of the jungle gym. But her other arm, tired from the day's recess, could barely grasp the other bar, and Andie's sweaty hand soon slipped off the monkey bars. He watched, startled, as she fell the few feet onto the ground, hitting the pavement with a slight thump.

Duckie remembered seeing young Andie sitting there in shock for a few seconds, before she calmly sat up and wiped herself off. While she did so, Duckie had noticed a few tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Being the shy boy that he was at the time, he continued to watch from the swing set awkwardly, not sure of what to do. After a few seconds, Duckie began to walk over to the redhead, beginning to worry if she had hurt herself.

"Hey, are you alright?" Duckie had nervously asked the young girl. She suddenly looked up, now aware that her tears were noticeable. She quickly wiped them away with her scraped hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Andie hastily replied. "I just bruised my leg a little, that's all."

"Well, is there anything I can do to help?" Duckie paused, and noticed a small trickle of blood beginning to seep out of the girl's knee. Andie began to notice as well, and soon her eyes began to well up again. She felt like a sissy, but there was no use trying to hide her tears at this point.

Duckie, feeling sorry for the girl, began to dig through his pockets in search of a cure. He seemed to always have a ton of junk stashed away in the pockets of his jacket- buttons, pennies, bits of paper, bubble gum wrappers, paper clips, and- there! A Band-Aid. He quickly fished it out of his crowded pocket and walked over to Andie, knelt down next to her and unpeeled the Band-Aid's seal.

Andie watched, teary-eyed and curious. No one had ever been this nice to her before. Duckie quickly got the Band-Aid open, and placed it with as much care as a nine-year-old could muster, onto Andie's knee. He looked up at her after he had finished this procedure, and, noticing her tear-stained face, knelt down again and quickly kissed the bandaged knee, as his mother had done for him numerous times. He looked back up towards Andie and gave her a shy but toothy childish grin.

"There! Now it's all better," Duckie exclaimed, glad to have helped his new found love. Andie looked at him, bewildered, but soon returned the smile. Since that day, Duckie had vowed to protect and take care of this girl, no matter what the cost.

Now, sitting in the abandoned cafeteria, Duckie remembered the vow he had made those eight years ago. He had kept his promise. He had been faithful to her. He had been the best friend he could be. He gave his life to her, and wanted to be with her in one way or another for the rest of his life. And while Duckie could tell that Andie appreciated his doting, and while he knew that she cared for him just as much, he just couldn't bring himself to tell her what he had been bottling up all of those years. It's not like she would take his confession seriously, so what as the use?

For now, Duckie was content with being her friend. She needed him, and he needed her. With all of the hardships the two of them had gone through in their lives, they both needed a friend that would be there for them and do anything for them, no matter what. And Duckie had always intended on living up to that, even as an awkward nine-year-old.

The bell rang, indicating that sixth period was over and lunch had begun. Duckie soon began searching for the bright red hair in the mass of students flooding into the cafeteria, until he finally noticed Andie, walking alone and wearing one of her famous volcanic ensembles that he adored so much. She finally saw him, sitting alone at a table across the large room, and smiled, giving him the incredulous look that she usually gave him when he made gestures like these.

As Andie began to walk over, Duckie couldn't contain his huge grin. Because no matter how insane she thought he was, he knew that she would always be grateful for all of the affection he showed her.

And that made Duckie happier more than anything else.


End file.
